The Papers of George Washington; V. 19; Presidential Series; 1 October 1795-31 March 1796 (Presidential Series)

Volume 19 of the Presidential Series (October 1795 through March 1796) features the final stages of the controversy about the 1794 Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation with Great Britain (the Jay Treaty). In August, George Washington had ratified the treaty, with a condition attached by the Senate, and he now awaited news of British ratification. Newspaper critics continued to inveigh against the treaty, and the attached condition led some to believe that the entire treaty would have to be resubmitted to the Senate. Washington, however, decided otherwise. After receiving news of the exchange of ratifications in London, he proclaimed the treaty on 29 Feb. 1796.Critics now contended that the treaty could not take effect without the consent of the House of Representatives because its provisions encroached upon areas constitutionally delegated to Congress. Could the Senate and the executive use the treaty-making power to legislate by themselves? Pursuant to that theory, Edward Livingston introduced a resolution calling on Washington to supply documents relative to the treaty negotiations. After consulting with his cabinet and Alexander Hamilton, the president refused to supply any material. His explanatory message to the House disputed the opponents' view of the treaty-making power and, in an important precedent, claimed executive privilege. Other treaty negotiations proved less controversial. Washington received news that treaties had been reached with Algiers and Spain, and the existing treaty with Morocco had been reaffirmed. Despite a ceremonial exchange of flags, tensions grew between France and the United States, in large part because of the Jay Treaty. When a private letter from Washington to Gouverneur Morris was intercepted by a French ship and read by the French government, it, too, had ""an ill effect."" In these circumstances, the Marquis de Lafayette's continued imprisonment in Austria and the arrival of his son in America forced the president to weigh